'Laugh-In' star Ruth Buzzi, scowling lady with the handbag, dead at 88
WASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) - Comic performer Ruth Buzzi, who played a counterpoint to the 1960s sexual revolution for laughs as the frumpy, hairnet-wearing, handbag-swinging spinster on U.S. prime-time television hit "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," has died at age 88.
Buzzi succumbed to complications from Alzheimer's disease at her ranch home near Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday, 10 years after she was diagnosed, her longtime Los Angeles-based agent Mike Eisenstadt said in a statement.
"Her husband of almost 48 years, Kent Perkins, expressed to me that she was making people laugh just a few days ago," Eisenstadt said in an email message to Reuters on Friday.
Born and raised in New England, Buzzi moved to California after high school to study acting and joined the Pasadena Playhouse for the Performing Arts, alongside future Oscar winners Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman. She went on to an entertainment career spanning 60 years.
She was best known for her work on "Laugh-In," a groundbreaking NBC ensemble comedy hour that premiered in the summer of 1968, helping to define the pop culture of the era and launching the careers of several stars, including Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin.
Buzzi devised a series of sketch comedy characters on the show. Gladys Ormphby, her most famous, was a scowling, irascible spinster who wore drab brown dresses and a hairnet with a spider-like knot in the center of her forehead. Sitting on a park bench, she would react to the approaches of a dirty old man played by Arte Johnson by mercilessly walloping him with her handbag when he muttered come-ons to her.
The Gladys and Tyrone bits offered a satiric contrast to the era's sexually permissive vibe celebrated on the show, which ran until 1973. The Gladys character became so popular that she began appearing elsewhere on prime time, and it became a badge of honor for a celebrity to be thrashed by Buzzi.
Appearing on one of several televised celebrity "roasts" hosted by actor-singer Dean Martin, Buzzi encountered the heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali. As Gladys, the diminutive Buzzi ranted about Ali interfering in her relationship with her boyfriend, then threateningly pointed her index finger at him.
"If you want to make something of it, I want you to meet me out in the parking lot, and we'll have it out, man to man," Buzzi tells him, unleashing dozens of rapid-fire handbag hits to the head and shoulders of the bemused champion, who took it all in good humor.
At another roast, Buzzi as Gladys tells Martin: "Look at you, sitting there so calm and cool, when last night you were yearning for my body." Martin responds: "That wasn't yearning, it was yawning," precipitating a handbag assault, with entertainment legend Frank Sinatra looking on and laughing.
"No, it didn't hurt," Buzzi told interviewer Nick Thomas in 2016. "It looked vicious, but it was just a felt purse lined and filled with old pantyhose and cotton. I was able to swing it with all my might and it still wouldn't hurt anyone, although it looked great and sounded great with a 'thud' when it landed."
Buzzi earned three prime-time Emmy Award nominations in the 1970s - for "Laugh-In" and "The Dean Martin Show" - and two daytime Emmy nods in the 1980s and '90s, including one for her work on the acclaimed children's show "Sesame Street." She won a 1973 Golden Globe award for "Laugh-In."
Buzzi perfected a portfolio of zany characters.
"My favorite character to play was actually 'Doris Sidebottom,' the sloppy drunk," Buzzi said. "I also had fun with 'Busy Buzzi,' the gossip columnist, and my hooker character, 'Kim Hither.'"
In addition to guest appearances on various variety shows and sitcoms over the years, Buzzi occasionally played supporting roles in films such as "Freaky Friday", "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again" and "The North Avenue Irregulars."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Danny Cipriani cuddles glam TV star ex 4 months after they split amid tense divorce showdown with wife
RUGBY union hunk Danny Cipriani cuddles up to his glam ex — four months after they split. The ex-England fly-half, 37, was spotted last week in LA with American Nip/Tuck star AnnaLynne McCord, also 37. 4 4 AnnaLynne and Danny became an item last April, just months after he split from wife Victoria Rose, 44. He launched their relationship by saying: "My miracle… loving you is the easiest thing in the world." The pair bonded over their passion for spirituality and were pictured on holiday in Egypt and on the beach in LA. However, in January the pair were reported to have split with a source saying: "Their romance was very turbulent, Danny is going through a very difficult divorce and wasn't able to give AnnaLynne everything she needed." Danny then confirmed their break-up at a screening of Celebrity Bear Hunt. He said of AnnaLynne: "We're not together right now, but she really enjoyed [watching] it. "We were just talking about it and she really enjoyed it. She was so positive. "There was one time I phoned her during it and I was thinking about how I'm going to get out of here. "She was like, 'Look, I'm down, I'm going.' She was awesome." Danny and AnnaLynne's reunion comes two weeks after a legal showdown between the Celebrity Bear Hunt star and his soon-to-be ex-wife Victoria. Danny Cipriani's wife files for divorce after the rugby ace walked out on her and hitched up with an American actress They were recently in court to finalise details of their split. A source said: 'It was pretty tense. The divorce is far from done.' 4
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Nine women accuse Jared Leto of sexual impropriety in new report
Multiple women have accused Jared Leto of impropriety, with some calling the 53-year-old actor and musician's behavior 'predatory, terrifying and unacceptable'. In a new report by Air Mail on Saturday, nine women have come forward to accuse Leto of engaging in inappropriate behavior over the years, including flirting with teenagers. Speaking to the outlet, one woman said that back in 2006, when she was 16 years old, Leto approached her outside a cafe in Los Angeles. According to the woman, Leto, who was seated with the actor Ashley Olsen, who was then 19, grabbed her arm. 'I looked down and it was Jared Leto,' the woman told Air Mail, adding: 'We had a quick conversation, and he got my number.' She went on to say that Leto called her home a few days later, recalling: 'I don't know if he was on drugs or what … It was the weirdest, grossest voice … [But] for me, it's Jared, you know?' She said that Leto said he was hosting a party at his house that evening and that he invited her. The woman declined, telling the outlet: 'I didn't even have a driver's license.' Nevertheless, she said, Leto kept calling her, 'always at one, two, three AM'. 'And the conversations turned sexual. He'd ask things like: 'Have you ever had a boyfriend? Have you ever sucked a dick?'' she told Air Mail. Another woman, the model Laura La Rue, recounted a similar experience to the outlet, saying that when she was 16 years old in 2008, she was at an event in a private residence in Beverly Hills where Leto was 'watching her so intensely'. 'He asked how old I was. I said, 'I'm 16. How old are you?'' La Rue told Air Mail. Leto, who was 36 at the time, proceeded to ask for her number. The two began an email correspondence, which eventually led to her visiting Leto's home in April 2009, the outlet reports. 'I remember him teasing me the whole time I was there,' La Rue said, adding: 'He was flirting with me. He'd lean in close, then pull away, like it was a game.' In a statement to Air Mail, a representative of Leto said: 'Their communications contain nothing sexual or inappropriate … and Ms La Rue later applied to work as Mr Leto's personal assistant, further underscoring the absence of anything inappropriate in any of their interactions.' Air Mail reports La Rue denying ever applying for a personal assistant role with Leto. During a separate visit, La Rue said, Leto walked out of a room completely naked when she was 17 years old. 'He just walked out, dick out, like it was normal … I thought maybe this was just what adult men do,' she told Air Mail. Another woman who spoke to the outlet said that she and Leto began a texting relationship while she was still underage. According to her, Leto would ask her inappropriate questions during her visits to his house, such as: 'Do any of the little boys you hang out with fuck you?' The woman added that once, when she was 18, Leto 'suddenly pulled his penis out and started masturbating'. She told the outlet: 'Then he walked over, grabbed my hand, and put it on him. He leaned in and said: 'I want you to spit on it.'' Another woman, Allie Teilz, a Los Angeles-based DJ and music producer, last month on Instagram reposted a 2012 Facebook status in which she had said: 'Youre [sic] not really in L.A. until Jared Leto tries to force himself on you backstage… In a kilt.. And a snow hat,' Air Mail reported. In her Instagram stories, which Air Mail reviewed, Teilz said: 'I was assaulted and traumatized by this creep when I was 17 … He knew my age and didn't care. What he did was predatory, terrifying and unacceptable.' A representative of Leto has 'expressly denied' the various women's accusations reported in Air Mail, including Teilz's, which the representative said were 'demonstrably false'. Leto himself has yet to comment on the allegations. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
WWII film that 'blows Dunkirk out of the water' is leaving Netflix soon
This powerful hit drama is leaving Netflix later this month Joe Wright's cinematic masterpiece Atonement, starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, has made an indelible impact with its seven Oscar nominations and a box office return that quadrupled its budget. Set against the backdrop of World War 2, Atonement is a riveting tale that unfolds over one sultry day in 1935, with consequences rippling through the decades. The film boasts an epic five-minute continuous shot featuring 1,000 extras that captures the Dunkirk evacuation chaos from McAvoy's perspective. For those intrigued, time is ticking to watch this war drama on Netflix, as it departs the service on 16th June. The film enjoys an impressive 83% 'fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critical consensus reads: "Atonement features strong performances, brilliant cinematography, and a unique score. Featuring deft performances from James MacAvoy and Keira Knightley, it's a successful adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel." Atonement clinched the Best Film accolade at the BAFTAs, took home the Best Original Score at the Oscars, and earned Saoirse Ronan an Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actress at just 13 years old, reports the Express. Launching both the 2007 Venice and Vancouver Film Festivals, the film also marked Wright as the youngest director ever to open the former at only 35. Critic Andrew Collins gave the film a glowing five-star review in Radio Times, declaring: "Atonement transcends the expectations of its country-house setting, via the privations of war, to deliver a knockout twist that works better on the screen than it did on the page." Bruce Newman, another film critic, praised the first part of the movie, stating: "In its first 45 minutes, Atonement achieves a kind of perfection rare even for big Oscar-bait movies," but he added a note of caution: "Every facet of the filmmaking is the equal of any picture released this year. The rest of the movie isn't so bad." The film has stirred up quite the conversation among fans, with one standout review on Letterboxd proclaiming: "13 years old saoirse ronan was robbed of that oscar for her performance as THE DEVIL." On Google, a fervent admirer of the film compared it to Dunkirk (2017), expressing: "I deeply appreciate Atonement for other reasons and while the films are about 10 years apart I am utterly perplexed by how Nolan's Dunkirk became the critical darling it is, especially since this film exists. Get Netflix free with Sky This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more from £15 Sky Get the deal here Product Description "This film isn't about the evacuation of Dunkirk or WWII (those elements form the background for a fully realized troubled romance and family drama) and YET this film spends about 20 minutes on Dunkirk and it conveys the horror, defeat and dread of it it far sharper and more resonant than Nolan's film does for its entire run time." Another popular opinion on Letterboxd, which attracted over 6,000 likes, succinctly put it: "the five-minute long take on the beach >>>>>>> dunkirk (2017)". Atonement is available to stream on Netflix until Monday, 16th June.
